


If I Were Granted One Wish

by Icecat62



Category: due South
Genre: Challenge Response, Gen, Regrets, Second Chances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-17
Updated: 2014-09-17
Packaged: 2018-02-17 18:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2319503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icecat62/pseuds/Icecat62
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fraser makes a wish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If I Were Granted One Wish

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to RedSuitsYou@yahoogroups.com - May 2002.  
> Anna's 5-Minute Challenge.

Dewey shook his head and set the paper in his hands down on the desk. "Can you believe this? Two hundred and fifty million dollars. The guy won it all by himself."

Huey leaned back in his chair. "Two hundred and fifty million. That's a lot of freedom."

"You aren't kidding. You know what. If I were granted one wish, it would be to win a lottery like that."

Huey grabbed a file and frowned. "If I had one wish, it'd be for all my cases to be cleared."

Dewey made a face and yelled across the bullpen. Sometimes Huey could be too serious for his own good. "Hey Ray! If you were granted one wish, what would it be?!"

Ray looked up from the papers on his desk. "Huh?"

Standing, Dewey walked over to Ray's desk. "Some guy won the big lotto and me and Huey were talking about what we'd wish for. What would you want?"

"I dunno. I guess..." He snapped his fingers. "I'd want to be a pro ball player. The feeling I got when I whomped that ball was the greatest."

Francesca walked over to them and gave Fraser the once over. "I know what I'd wish for."

Ray smirked. "Yeah, yeah, we all know what you want."

Ray flashed Fraser a toothy grin. "So what would you ask for?"

Fraser remained silent for a moment. There were so many things in his life that he regretted. So many mistakes. What would he wish for? Running a thumb over his brow, he stared at the box of Smarties on Ray's desk.

"Come on Frase. There has to be sompthin' you'd want." Ray smirked at him. "And don't go wishin' for world peace or sumpthin' like that. It has to be for you."

Looking up, Fraser found half the room was waiting for his answer. Why was everyone interested in what he'd wish for? "I really don't know Ray."

Francesca sighed. Why did Fraser always have to make a simple question seem like an earth shattering decision? "Just say the first thing that comes to mind."

Without even thinking about what he was saying, the answer came from his lips. "I wish my mum hadn't died."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Fraser knew he had done the wrong thing as usual. Everyone around him immediately gave him a look of sympathy that he never wanted.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...if you'll excuse me."

Standing, he quickly walked out of the bullpen, feeling their eyes boring into his back. No matter what he did, he always managed to say the wrong thing. What was he thinking? Everyone else wanted simple things. What he wanted was the impossible.

************************

Francesca felt the guilt laying in her stomach like a lead weight. Here she was drooling over Fraser and the man wanted his dead mother back. How come she always managed to say the wrong thing?

Ray stared at the now empty doorway that Fraser had walked through. He was a pig. He could have said he wished he were himself again. Instead he wanted some stupid kid dream. He'd never grow up.

Huey looked at the folder in his hand, feeling empty and sad. These were unsolved cases and they'd probably be here for a long time. What was he thinking when he wished for something so stupid?

Dewey looked at his watch. Lucky him. In fifteen minutes he could go to lunch. The deli special today was a grilled reuban.

********************************

Fraser walked aimlessly, not caring where he was going. Before he knew it, he was at the consulate. Unlocking the doors, he stepped into the empty building and made his way to his office. Without turning the lights on, he slowly removed his uniform, folding each piece neatly before setting them down on a chair.

Laying down on the old cot, he frowned. Why did he wish for something that he knew was impossible? He would go back home some day. Deep inside, he knew there was a chance that Victoria would forgive him and Ray Vecchio would come back to his old life. His mum would remain dead, there was nothing that could change that. Why did he have to make a fool of himself in front of everyone again?

Closing his eyes, he wished he could take back what he said earlier that day. He wanted for once in his life to be a part of the group at the station and not feel like a...freak. That's what Ray always called him. A freak.

**********************************

"Just say the first thing that comes to mind."

Fraser blinked a few times in astonishment. How did he get here?

Ray snapped his fingers in front of Fraser's face. "Yo Frase, come on, cough up an answer."

Clearing his throat, Fraser suppressed a smile. He had wished for something simple, something normal and it had come true. He had a chance to redeem himself.

"I think I'd wish that I had become a pro hockey player."

Ray and Dewey grinned. Pro hockey was cool.

Francesca pictured Fraser in a hockey uniform, all sweaty and breathing heavily.

Ray's face grew animated as he spoke. "Ya' know we could sign our cards at one of the local shows together."

Francesca rolled her eyes. "No one would want your autograph Ray."

"Says you, Frannie. I bet there'd be a line of fans waitin' to talk to me."

"Oh please."

Dewey and Francesca both laughed at Ray and walked away from them. Ray still had a silly grin on his face. "I didn't know you wanted to play pro hockey."

Fraser almost blurted out he didn't, but he held his tongue. Someone had given him a chance to correct a part of his life and for once he wasn't about to ruin it.

"Well Ray, I am Canadian and you know how all Canadians want to play professional hockey."

Ray heard the teasing sound in Fraser's voice and couldn't help but laugh as he hooked a thumb at himself. "Yeah, you're right about that. You guys have your dreams of hockey and we have our dreams of baseball."

Returning to the report they had been working on before Dewey had interrupted them, Fraser felt a lightness within himself that had been missing recently. It was a small thing he was given, but sometimes the smallest things in life were the prelude to the bigger things.

Maybe this one little wish come true would lead him to something else. Maybe he'd be going home soon. Maybe Ray would come back to Chicago. Who knew what fate had in store for him in the future? For now he would be content with what he had been given.

END


End file.
